The invention relates to particulate solids of surface-active compounds and to a process for their production.
Due to their chemical structure, many surface-active compounds are produced in the form of substances that are solid, usually solid in a wax-like manner, at room temperature.
In this form, the compounds cannot be used or handled efficiently and economically, for example, as emulsifiers for aqueous systems, and, in particular, are difficult to meter or require long dissolution times. For this reason, either optionally stabilized solutions (generally aqueous) of low concentration are used or the solid substances in the form of flakes or pellets are used. Disadvantages of aqueous solutions are frequently the low concentration, the presence of adjustment or stabilization auxiliaries, such as pH regulators and preservatives, and in some cases the water itself.
Disadvantages of flakes or pellets are the dissolution rate, which is still poor, and also the usually uneconomical production. Subsequent grinding, such as, for example, cryogrinding, to give a powder is frequently necessary as an additional complex working step.
Efforts are therefore being made to obtain readily flowable particulate solids, for example, powders or granules, of surface-active compounds that can easily be metered into the use systems, for example, aqueous systems, and have the highest possible dissolution rate, such as, by way of comparison, liquid formulations or melts of the compounds.
The object of the invention is therefore a process for the economical production of particulate solids of surface-active compounds.